RESPECTED people in the game, like Arsene Wenger, have acknowledged that we need to find ways to stimulate more excitement in Premier League football.

There are good reasons for wanting English football to be open and unpredictable and for wanting a move away from the defensive emphasis that has been creeping into the Premiership.

It's started a healthy debate about a number of suggestions for tweaking the existing points system.

In my view the group who should have most influence on the discussions are the supporters. The views of paying customers will be ignored at their peril by the people who run the game.

I'd encourage the introduction of supporters' seminars and discussion groups that can feed ideas directly into the Premier League and the Football League.

The other key player in this issue is Sky TV. Their influence as the game's principal broadcaster cannot be underestimated. They dictate so much that happens in football, as was evidenced by the 11.15am kick-off last Sunday for the game between Manchester City and Everton.

Sky's presenters are sensitive to criticism about the entertainment value of games, as are all TV companies and media outlets with a vested interest.

The prospect of a radical departure from the existing points system of three points for a win and one for a draw is most unlikely.

But what about retaining the existing points system and adding bonus points for goals?

The introduction of goals bonus points that could make the televised games more exciting is bound to interest TV executives.

It's interesting to look at what the outcome would have been last season if a goals bonus points system had applied.

Arsene Wenger has suggested the introduction of an extra bonus point for teams winning a game by a three-goal margin or more.

But this would have produced very little difference to the outcome of the Premiership last season. The top six places would have been unaltered although the gap between Chelsea in first place and Arsenal in second would be narrower as the Gunners had 10 victories by a three-goal margin or more.

However, if a bonus point had been added for every goal scored, the final Premiership table for last season would have looked very different with Arsenal finishing top.

Chelsea, champions by a 12-point margin last season, would have finished second. The Gunners would have gathered an additional 15 points on their London rivals by scoring 87 goals to Chelsea's 72.

Everton, who claimed a Champions League place by finishing fourth, would have dropped to seventh because their modest goalscoring record realised only 45 bonus points and Liverpool would have taken fourth place.

Obviously, this just shows how the historical tables would have altered and we can't estimate what sort of difference a goals bonus point system would have had on tactics, team selection and motivation.

I doubt whether football's governing bodies will have much appetite to change the current system. But changes might get on the agenda if they are driven by supporters and by television.

Sky TV already has the power to change people's thinking about the game. What if they were to insist that the money awarded to clubs is calculated on the basis of entertainment value or goals scored?

Fans take comfort >>>>

Fans take comfort>

A RECENT survey of supporters to find English football's best stadia provided some interesting results.

The survey was commissioned by property consultants, Drivers Jonas, who specialise in stadia development.

Perhaps surprisingly, Hull City's KC Stadium was voted the best stadium, followed by the grounds, all of them relatively new, at Sunderland, Derby, Reading and Southampton.

None of the top Premiership clubs made the top five.

Liverpool and Manchester both lay claim to be the capital of football but Anfield only just made it into the top 10, in ninth place.

Everton, Manchester United and Manchester City didn't feature in the top 10 at all.

The results indicate that as a nation of football supporters we may be moving away from our preference for the oldfashioned grounds, steeped in tradition and are coming to appreciate the extra comfort and superior facilities provided by the new stadia.

Bassett out of sorts>

I'M still waiting to see a TV series that delivers an authentic insight into the world of professional football.

We've had The Manageress, Dream Team, Footballers Wives and now Mike Bassett, Manager.

The first show had some funny moments but most of the jokes about football were old hat. The main characters are portrayed as dimwits for comic effect.

Yet the truth can be funnier, less predictable and far more dramatic. There is a TV show waiting to be made that catches the true flavour of a game which, at this level, can be heart-warming, moving, hilarious and shocking.

Things happen behind the scenes in this industry that are truly unbelievable. There's greed, betrayal, humour, kindness, sex and violence - yes, even at Tranmere!

You don't have to distort real life in football to make something utterly compelling for a TV audience.